PARTY LINES: Gaming Commission likely to vote on casino Thursday

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission is expected to vote Thursday on whether to allow commercial entities to apply for a casino license in southeastern Massachusetts, where the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe has had exclusivity on the casino market.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission is expected to vote Thursday on whether to allow commercial entities to apply for a casino license in southeastern Massachusetts, where the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe has had exclusivity on the casino market.

In a meeting two weeks ago, a majority of commissioners appeared ready to open the region to commercial applicants, but they ultimately decided to allow one last round of public comments before voting.

The tribe has an application pending to have land in Taunton taken in trust by the federal government. That would allow the Mashpee to establish a reservation and build a casino under the federal Indian gaming Regulatory Act.

While the Mashpee insist they are on track, there has been growing sentiment among some legislators that the tribe is on a dead-end path and will not qualify for land in trust. To avoid the uncertainty surrounding the tribal casino proposal, several Taunton and Fall River officials have called on the Gaming Commission to allow commercial applicants to seek the southeastern Massachusetts casino license.

There has been a stark difference of opinion on the intent of the legislation that gives the Mashpee conditional exclusive rights to the southeastern Massachusetts casino market. The tribe says that provision is the basis for the economic model of the entire casino legislation and recognizes their federal rights. Others say the intent of the law is to allow for economic development across the state, and that a delayed or uncertain tribal casino doesn’t offer a chance for that.

The meeting that may decide the fate of the southeastern Massachusetts casino landscape will be held far from the region. Before knowing the southeastern Massachusetts issue would come up, the Gaming Commission had already scheduled the meeting to be held in Palmer.

Kennedy calls for early-childhood education funding

During a visit to the Triumph Head Start facility in Myles Standish Industrial Park, U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III pledged to make early childhood education a priority in the federal budget debate.

“To be able to engage students in a love of learning at an early age is so critical,” Kennedy said.

Head Start, a federal program that provides education, health and nutrition services to income-eligible children and families, is facing across-the-board-cuts due to sequestration. “Every study will show there’s a tremendous return on the investment…” he said. “This is where you transfer the policy discussion to the practical reality of making our communities better.”

Various studies over the years have drawn mixed conclusions over the long-term effectiveness of Head Start.